Once you can name things and take action, adjectives let you actually describe them. This list covers 25 of the most essential and useful Japanese adjectives, chosen based on real usage frequency in everyday Japanese.
These 25 common adjectives cover a huge range of everyday situations, from simple descriptions (大きい, 高い, 新しい) to feelings and reactions (楽しい, 怖い, 忙しい). Bookmark this page and come back to it as your vocabulary grows, or download the free PDF below so you can take the list with you wherever you go.
Each adjective comes with its hiragana reading, English meaning, and a beginner-friendly example sentence so you can see it used in context. Combined with the verbs and nouns from mt other lists, you’ll be able to build detailed, natural-sounding sentences in no time.
1. 『いい』
- i-Adjective: ii
- Hiragana: いい
- Meaning: good
Example Sentence
天気がいい。
Tenki ga ii.
The weather is good.
2. 『悪い』
- i-Adjective: warui
- Hiragana: わるい
- Meaning: bad
Example Sentence
天気が悪い。
Tenki ga warui.
The weather is bad.
3. 『大きい』
- i-Adjective: ookii
- Hiragana: おおきい
- Meaning: big
Example Sentence
家が大きい。
Ie ga ookii.
The house is big.
4. 『高い』
- i-Adjective: takai
- Hiragana: たかい
- Meaning: expensive, tall
Example Sentence
この本は高い。
Kono hon wa takai.
This book is expensive.
5. 『新しい』
- i-Adjective: atarashii
- Hiragana: あたらしい
- Meaning: new
Example Sentence
新しい本を買う。
Atarashii hon o kau.
I buy a new book.
6. 『強い』
- i-Adjective: tsuyoi
- Hiragana: つよい
- Meaning: strong
Example Sentence
あの男は強い。
Ano otoko wa tsuyoi.
That man is strong.
7. 『楽しい』
- i-Adjective: tanoshii
- Hiragana: たのしい
- Meaning: fun
Example Sentence
仕事が楽しい。
Shigoto ga tanoshii.
Work is fun.
8. 『難しい』
- i-Adjective: muzukashii
- Hiragana: むずかしい
- Meaning: difficult
Example Sentence
問題が難しい。
Mondai ga muzukashii.
The problem is difficult.
9. 『少ない』
- i-Adjective: sukunai
- Hiragana: すくない
- Meaning: few, little
Example Sentence
時間が少ない。
Jikan ga sukunai.
There is little time.
10. 『早い』
- i-Adjective: hayai
- Hiragana: はやい
- Meaning: early, quick
Example Sentence
今日は早い。
Kyou wa hayai.
It’s early today.
11. 『長い』
- i-Adjective: nagai
- Hiragana: ながい
- Meaning: long
Example Sentence
話が長い。
Hanashi ga nagai.
The story is long.
12. 『近い』
- i-Adjective: chikai
- Hiragana: ちかい
- Meaning: near
Example Sentence
場所が近い。
Basho ga chikai.
The place is close.
13. 『若い』
- i-Adjective: wakai
- Hiragana: わかい
- Meaning: young
Example Sentence
あの人は若い。
Ano hito wa wakai.
That person is young.
14. 『怖い』
- i-Adjective: kowai
- Hiragana: こわい
- Meaning: scary
Example Sentence
あの話は怖い。
Ano hanashi wa kowai.
That story is scary.
15. 『欲しい』
- i-Adjective: hoshii
- Hiragana: ほしい
- Meaning: want
Example Sentence
お金が欲しい。
Okane ga hoshii.
I want money.
16. 『大変（な）』
- Na-Adjective: taihen (na)
- Hiragana: たいへん
- Meaning: tough, hard
Example Sentence
仕事が大変。
Shigoto ga taihen.
Work is tough.
17. 『大切（な）』
- Na-Adjective: taisetsu (na)
- Hiragana: たいせつ
- Meaning: important
Example Sentence
気持ちが大切。
Kimochi ga taisetsu.
Feelings are important.
18. 『必要（な）』
- Na-Adjective: hitsuyou (na)
- Hiragana: ひつよう
- Meaning: necessary
Example Sentence
お金が必要。
Okane ga hitsuyou.
Money is necessary.
19. 『広い』
- i-Adjective: hiroi
- Hiragana: ひろい
- Meaning: wide, spacious
Example Sentence
世界が広い。
Sekai ga hiroi.
The world is wide.
20. 『優しい』
- i-Adjective: yasashii
- Hiragana: やさしい
- Meaning: kind
Example Sentence
あの人は優しい。
Ano hito wa yasashii.
That person is kind.
21. 『忙しい』
- i-Adjective: isogashii
- Hiragana: いそがしい
- Meaning: busy
Example Sentence
今、忙しい。
Ima, isogashii.
I’m busy right now.
22. 『暗い』
- i-Adjective: kurai
- Hiragana: くらい
- Meaning: dark
Example Sentence
部屋が暗い。
Heya ga kurai.
The room is dark.
23. 『寒い』
- i-Adjective: samui
- Hiragana: さむい
- Meaning: cold
Example Sentence
今日は寒い。
Kyou wa samui.
It’s cold today.
24. 『厳しい』
- i-Adjective: kibishii
- Hiragana: きびしい
- Meaning: strict
Example Sentence
先生は厳しい。
Sensei wa kibishii.
The teacher is strict.
25. 『面白い』
- i-Adjective: omoshiroi
- Hiragana: おもしろい
- Meaning: interesting, funny
Example Sentence
この話は面白い。
Kono hanashi wa omoshiroi.
This story is interesting.
よかったね🎉
Isn’t it great 🎉
You’ve just learned 25 of the most common Japanese adjectives, and you’ll start spotting many of them everywhere, from everyday conversations to anime, manga, games, songs, and the posts of your favorite stars.
Combined with the verbs and nouns you already know, these adjectives are enough to start describing the world around you in Japanese. Try building a few sentences yourself, or head over to our Beginner Japanese Sentences and see how many you can already understand.
Hungry for more? Check out my Top 25 Japanese Nouns, Top 25 Japanese Verbs, and Top 25 Japanese Particles next, or subscribe below to download the free PDF list and get future vocabulary packs sent straight to your inbox.
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